When the Montanans Invaded

Jens Nelson and four close neighbors called their hill Snoosville, as the loggers all chewed snuff.”

Evelyn Stinson tells a tale few may know — how the Montanans “invaded” the Key Peninsula.

In 1924, an entrepreneur named Joe Lewis visited Libby, Montana, with photographs of land for sale in Washington state — a lovely lake with evergreen trees, where people grew apples, potatoes, berries, and flowers in lush abundance.

The price was reasonable — a little down, as much as 20 acres available to a family, and Lewis enticed six families to head to Washington in a caravan.

Families included Ackermans, Nelsons, Van Laanen, Vitol, Winkenweder, and Wolniewicz. Kelly Vitol (now Mrs. Lester Gulseth) was 8. Three Stinson brothers and Mr. Dahl came by train as far as Tacoma, then made their way to Vaughn.

The people realized Lewis’ photographs were not all taken at the lake. There was a rough road with a few houses along it. Trees, yes, but no orchards and rich gardens. Some bought, rented, or built homes there, but most found places to live around Vaughn. Many lived in tents until they could build a house.

Jens Nelson and four close neighbors called their hill Snoosville, as the loggers all chewed snuff.

In 1926, Lewis traveled to Havre, Montana, with his showy photographs, including 4-pound potatoes. Stinson thinks the pictures were taken in the Puyallup Valley.

R. T. Arledge, in his book, “Early Days of the Key Peninsula,” noted Lewis’ brochure called Lake Lewis “The Land of Contented Homes.” It claimed the climate was mild, the soil fertile, easily cleared, and near a transcontinental railroad (Tacoma!)

Avelyn Stinson was born in a log cabin on her grandparents’ homestead in Montana. As a young adult, she legally changed her name to Evelyn, as that’s what everyone thought it was, and she tired of fighting it.

The year she was 10, they lost their cattle in a cold winter and moved to Havre, “the windiest, coldest, most desolate spot in Montana.” Her father, Joe Bigley, worked in a mill, and in 1926, bit on Lewis’ sales pitch.

The Ackerman, Bigley, Flotten, Jaggi, Johnson, and Knapp families descended to experience the same disappointment as the first Montanans.

The late Carol Bradley Krabler noted that raising chickens and grapes was promoted by Lewis. The Bradleys arrived in 1925 with other railroad families, Butterfields and Iversons. The women and children would stay, and the men would return to railroad jobs in Montana until retirement.

When the Bradleys just purchased house burned down with all of their belongings inside, Mr. Bradley had to extend his railroad work. Krabler wrote she felt “stuffed in” with all the trees and no big spaces. The school had no band, no dance classes, and not much music or art.

P. A. Peterson, followed by Mr. Elliott, ran a small store and drove the school bus, a black truck with a makeshift box, two windows, a door, and benches, called The Chicken Coop.

Lewis Lake Community Hall, a converted chicken house, was used for dances and meetings. Mr. Flotten played violin, and his wife played piano for dances or other gatherings.

Almost all of these Montana families stayed in the area, and many descendants still call the Peninsula home.